Thanks so much for taking such great care of us, setting us up with some excellent fishing, and tolerating our shenanigans. I've been on several fishing charters in my neck of the woods, but none of them went the extra distance that Reel Affair Charters did to make the experience such a pleasure. Lunch was wonderful and I was sure glad to have some complimentary cold bevvies to stay hydrated. Dan made the trips out to some productive fishing and then back again expertly. Lucky was right on top of things as the deck hand and was personable and pleasant as he helped us out. As a team, both of them were great guys, knowledgeable and fun to be around. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to fish with them again. Transportation was a big plus as well. The fish was packaged nicely for the travels back home - still frozen solid when I took it out of the box many hours later. I fixed up some of the halibut for dinner for the family tonight - so delicious (I haven't had fresh halibut in years, so it was a real treat). The fish won't hang around too long here, but the memories of the rugged beauty and spectacular wildlife that is everywhere in Sitka, the successful fishing, and time with my buddies will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,Brad

_____

And you gentlemen were a pleasure to fish - see you next year - I have saved your dates!

Thanks again to you and your crew at Reel Affair for making our Sitka fishing such a great experience.

Nancy and I have fished in Homer and Seward, Alaska, in Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina. Never have we been treated so well, both on and off the boat. Your reservation/payment process is simple and straightforward. No surprises. We look forward to picking up our fish at air cargo in Detroit.

We'll likely be back in Sitka again and we'll be sure to book with you when we do.

You are so very welcome! My best to Nancy and of course to you & the pet. 😊

Once you do receive your fish check it out and if you have any questions or concerns of course you know I'm always available we strive that it will be some of the best processing you've ever seen. Thank you again very much and stay in touch.

Dan's camera is still on the boat but it will come back tonight and I'll send you your picture

Great day fishing with Tim and Geoff today! Christine and I had SOOOO MUCH FUN! Sitka is such a beautiful town!

**

On Jul 17, 2016, at 7:43 PM, Tom Meder wrote:

Hi Octobre,

Christine and I are having a great time fishing with all of the Reel Affair family. Thanks to all!!

****

You are so very welcome!We'll take good care of your fish - Once you get it home & open it - please let me know your thoughts on processing - My feelings are - You & all my folks place a huge amount of trust - in that you take possession of your catch - but it is packaged & concealed. You don't really know how it has been addressed or the quality of what you have until after you open it -

I feel that once you are gone, you are not really gone until you have open your boxes, and are content with the contents & how your food has been handled.

IF you or Christine have any questions on any level - you have my number - don't hesitate -

thank you both very much for the Certificate's to LUDVIGS - I see a dinner for Pam, Geoff, Tim & I coming up in September - thank you again - what a special thing to do -

OMG........ Let me tell you what happened....I was tracking the shipment andI saw where the 2 boxes had arrived at the Macon location(about 25 milesaway) at 8:35 am. So I thought around 9:30 it should be here. Well around9:15 here comes a FedEx guy with ONE box ( it was the halibut). I asked himwhere the second one was and he was like ...hum.... He said the second boxdidn't get on his truck and it was probably coming on the next one sometimetoday. He told me to check the tracking site and lo and behold there is a "shipping exception" in red on the site....not good I thought. So, I call the Macon office at 9:30 and the dispatcher told me the second box wasstill at the Macon site. I explained to her that it was fish and we weretold that if it wasn't delivered by 10:00 that we would get our shippingcharges refunded. She said that was correct and that I would have tocontact the original shipper to initiate this. She said she would see what she could do. She said it would be delivered today but she didn't know what time because she didn't know what truck it was on. Would you believe at9:51 there is a knock on my door and there is a FedEx guy in his personalvan with the second box! I had a meeting at 10:15 this morning and I wastelling those in attendance about the situation and one lady asks me was ita red van and I said yes. Would you believe that on the way to the meeting,she passed a FedEx truck pulled over on the side of the road and she sawthem unloading a "big box" into a red van. I guess FedEx was bound anddetermined to meet the 10:00 deadline!

So, both boxes made the 10:00 AM deadline. The fish was still frozen! Boy of boy, your fish house guys do a GREAT job of preparing the fish forshipping....please express our thanks to them!

Again, thank you for all you did! We are so looking forward to eating thefish, reindeer sausage and shrimp!!

Love you guys!!Emily

In reply ~ Thank you both very much - I am proud of the work they do : all three of them, Luis, Cosmo & Jesus do an exceptional job. Opening your boxes - I liken that to almost Christmas! inside is simply perfect ~

I have attached them as well in a size the web site requires & the original format - which is suitable for printing - high resolution - 6 photos attached collectively - enjoy & thank you so much - a pleasure to fish them - really sweet people

The PINK SALMON.

Yes ma'am, the fish forms for Bruce & Jennifer that they each filled out on the boat, reflected they did harvest & retain 3 pink salmon, so they went to your box. My thought is because they (the pinks) are SO bright, you can grind the meat muse a seasoned breaking, some salmon seasoning, garlicky green onions, and make salmon patties/burgers.

Or?

Have someone smoke them for you - A friend perhaps? Split 50/50 with them? - there was no side note on your Fish Transfer forms, that they were unwanted - so we included them for you - Know that puppies & kitties love them too - you could cook up for a pet as a treat....just sayin...

The Eagles will love it as well if Jennifer took some.

So, yes we packaged them along with your other harvested fish.

I am actually posting pic's to the web site right now - yours are coming up next - I will email them to you - for FREE! - I appreciate the offer of a check $$ but no - & you are so sweet to offer -

Your family was a pleasure to fish - and it was nice having the opportunity to meet you - though brief as it was.

*********

On Jul 12, 2016, at 1:05 PM, Linda S. wrote:

Okay Octobre, so now I have to be embarrassed. Apparently Bruce did not remember catching pinks. Good grief. I should have talked to Jennifer.

I had a great time on the fishing trip in Alaska, thank you for inviting me along. I would like to book a fishing trip for 2017 with Octobre. Can you please email to me her contact information? I have Sharon’s contact information for the housing.

Thanks, Glenn

*

Hi Glen,

I can definitely say that you were a great addition to the Sitka fishing family that I assemble every year. As I indicated I am booked for fishing the week of June 24 to July 1, fishing on the 26th, 28th and 30th. The charter group is Alaskan Reel Affair and Octobre's email is reel.affair@att.net and cc'd her. Reel Affair also has a great web site. If you can snag a boat for the same time my group is there you would be welcome to socialize with us at the Thimbleberry house as well as chow down. Definitely keep in touch and let me know if you need to fill an open slot on your boat, provided it is the same time we are there.

Thanks for joining us and pitching in at the house.

Gil

*

in reply to glen & Gil,

Awwwww, thank you so much! Yes Glen I have saved your dates for 4, thank you sir. I'll be in touch in September!

Thank you so much for the wonderful fishing experience I had this week. Your team is top notch and did everything possible to accommodate me during my trip to Sitka. I really appreciated your super communication which kept me from having to worry about what to expect and the logistics of getting around. Captain Dan did a tremendous job of keeping me on the fish and worked hard. My catch was delivered to the airport ready to go and your team even took care of labeling the boxes with the airline bag tags. It all arrived home in great shape with zero vacuum seals broken (I’ve never had that happen before)

I have been fishing out of Sitka with many different charters over the last 20 years, and now I’ve found my favorite…you will be seeing me again next year!

Thank you for providing such a great fishing experience. From start to finish we were well taken care of. We appreciate the time and effort it took make this happen. The Captain and his crew were very helpful and knowledgeable. The fact that we were able to complete our fishing trip in just 4-5 hours was amazing (2 people and 46 lbs. of processed fish)! The Captain even took pictures of us holding our fish and a great picture of the whale we were able to get incredibly close to. It was fun to view these pictures immediately upon our return. Thank you also for taking such good care of our fish while we spent the following week exploring more of Alaska. The fact that we could leave our catch on the boat and have it processed and shipped to arrive upon our return home in perfect condition, still frozen solid, was great. We hope to return for another incredible experience and allow more time to explore Sitka. It is truly a beautiful place.

Linda and Dennis DeWitt

REPLY 6/8/2016OMG - thank you! - what a wonderful thing to say to kick start my "words from our guests part of the web site - we appreciate you both very much - hope to see you & your friends in the future!

However, I did want to make sure that I extended our sincere appreciation for our trip to Sitka. Thank you for all of your efforts and attention to detail that made the trip easy to enjoy without the worries of the particulars that can often hinder the enjoyment of fishing trips. Certainly if we plan another trip to Alaska to fish, which I’m sure we will, I will be sure to call.

Also, please extend our thanks and appreciation to Capt. Dan and Deckhand Mitch. Dan’s knowledge and skills of fishing and boating were exemplary and Mitch has got to be the hardest working 18 year old that I’ve ever met. Both of them were extremely pleasant and helpful. Real class all the way around.

Bye for now and I hope to see you again.

I’ve attached the Yager Brothers version of a Deadliest Catch Photo just for fun………

Thanks again, Tim Yager

* * * * * * *

In Reply:

From: Octobre / Alaskan Reel Affair Charters

To: Tim Yager

Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 7:40 AM

Subject: Re: Thank You from the Yager Brothers

AWWWWWW - thank YOU! I am in the process of posting now - I'll have yours on line by tomorrow noon - i'd love to use that picture if you don't mind! that is priceless! The 6 of you were a pleasure to fish - I'm thrilled that you were pleased w your crew - we think highly of them -

Thanks Tim - SO much - glad you had such a fun & successful trip - did your fish make it in good shape?

I'm going out on a limb here, but given the 'mother load' you went home with, it'll take you a while to munch through that all - We'll still enjoy seeing you all at the sportman show in January though...

My best to the family - when you run out of preparation ideas ...

http://www.reelaffair.com/recipes.asp

again thank you for the kind words - i have posted your email to the web site - hope thats okay!

we'll leave you passes at will call for the ISE show - i'll remind you as dates draw nearer ...

Well I just did a walk thru my freezer they left one whole box of yours.

I will be shipping that Alaska air cargo.

I will pay shipping They will call you later today to apologize for their error & I have already made it more than clear to them the effects of not paying attention

I would like to ship tomorrow can you pick it up sat or sun?

as soon as i ship i'll have the info - they do have freezer for the overnight in seattle that is exactly why i opted for Air cargo, okay? ... I'll be in touch once i have confirmation of It's arrival to your airport - Thanks for understanding

Thanks for a great trip, Octobre – I smiled when I read your report . . . leave it to Teddy to be crude on his comment form. J

I wanted to mention the person that referred us: it was Mike Konte, who works for our distributor in Alaska, Specialty Imports. Some months ago, I asked them about where to go for an Alaska fishing trip in mid-June – Mike said Sitka. When I told him I wanted to get both salmon and halibut, he suggested two options: you and Kingfisher. For us, the 3 nights/2 days fishing was perfect.

I just sent this to the Better Business Bureau for the Pacific Northwest. I think that you are very deserving of it. Paula and I are counting the days until we get back to Sitka.

Stan________________________________________From: Slater,Stan FSent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 9:13 AMTo: Events@theBBB.orgSubject: Nomination of Alaskan Reel Affair Charters in Sitka, Alaska for Business of the Year Torch award

Dear Committee,

I would like to nominate Alaskan Reel Affair Charters in Sitka, Alaska for recognition at your Business of the Year Torch award luncheon. I have multiple sclerosis and I'm confined to a wheelchair. One of the few outdoor activities that I can still enjoy is fishing. My wife and I have fished with other charters in Alaska, British Columbia, Mexico, and Florida. While we have had good experiences in all of those places, Alaskan Reel Affair is in a class by itself. Not only do they go out of their way to accommodate me, I have observed the same level of service being provided to other clients of theirs with whom my wife and I had shared a boat with. When friends ask me about fishing in Alaska, Alaskan Reel Affair is at the top of my list of recommendations. Without going back to my records, I believe that this will be the fifth summer that we have fished with them. I have been looking forward to it ever since we got on the airplane home last year. Alaskan Reel Affair represents everything good about their business and their community. They are very deserving of recognition. By the way, I am a Professor of Marketing at Colorado State University. When I teach a section on services, I use the RATER model. RATER stands for Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, and Responsiveness. Reliability means that all members of the organization are committed to providing a superior customer experience. Assurance means that all team members are empowered to do what is right for the customer. Tangibles include the physical facilities. Empathy means that everyone treats the customer as if they were family. Finally, Responsiveness means that everyone goes out of their way or their job descriptions to provide the experience. Alaskan Reel Affair does as good a job on each of these criteria as any business with which I am familiar. Alaskan Reel Affair is very deserving of recognition.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me.

Stan------------------------------Stanley F. SlaterCharles and Gwen Lillis Professor of Business AdministrationDepartment of MarketingCollege of BusinessColorado State University

This is just a note of thanks for helping us to have the best possible fishing vacation imagined.

Everything from the food and excellent lunches, to the hotel and great weather was enjoyed by both of us.

You have chosen a truly beautiful place to live and work.

As much as I like Tim and would love to fish with him some day, it was nice having someone so thorough and in tune with everything including finding fish.

Roman will make a good ships captain one day if nursing does not work out. We will be back!

Mark and Brigitte

in Reply ~ 6.6.2013You folks we're a pleasure to fish. Having two folks climb in my van each and every afternoon SOOO stoked was incredible.

You & Mark hit the most ideal weather possible. Like it was all made to order. I know i have nurtured my 'connections' over the years, but Mother Nature is not one of them as she is proving this week ~

The folks we are fishing right now are being reminded daily that Sitka is in fact in a rain forest, and the thrill of an Alaskan style storm ~

Hopefully well see you at the show in 2014 - I'll have tickies if you like, so let me know. Stay in touch!

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude to you and your staff for providing my wife and I a lifetime of fishing memories with Alaskan Reel Affair Charters

Your hands on professionalism and personal touch was evident from start to finish. We were confident you would make sure our experience was going to be epic.

We appreciated your easy going manner. It felt like we were family.

Our Captain Roman and deck hands Parker and Mitchell were the best. Roman ran his boat and crew in a firm but kind manner. We felt quite safe with Roman at the helm. We were impressed with the way he keeps his boat clean and, he is the king of multitasking. Roman worked very hard at getting us into fish. We realized our salmon limits every day. We also got into one of his secret spots, and hauled in some massive halibut. My muscles are still pumped up.

Please be sure to thank them for all their hard work.

On our off day, we appreciated your willingness to drive us around town and show us the points of interest. One of my favorite places in Sitka is the Murray Pacific fisherman's supply. I purchased my Sitka Slippers and bought wonderful shiney sharp pointy things (filet knives) to take back home with me.

Enclosed is my down payment for next years trip. As far as I am concerned, there is only one charter company in Sitka, and their name is Alaskan Reel Affair Charters.

Thank you,

Mike and Robin Gleason

From Octobre;

That is so sweet! We genuinely enjoyed you guys as well. When it fits it just fits. Ya know?

'Smuggling' the sharp shiney pointy things into a fish box works well dosen't it?

We wanted you to know that we have now had the time to LEISURELY sample our Salmon, Rockfish and Halibut which you had filleted and sent back to our home, AND THEY WERE ALL THREE WONDERFUL! We are keeping them in the freezer in Myrtle Beach so we won't be tempted to eat them all up quickly OR offer any of them to our friends.

It was a great trip with your guys on June 1, and a great trip onward to Anchorage, Denali and the Kenai Peninsula. We're already talking about when we want to return!

Thanks for your support to get our trip to our 50th State started right.

Kathy & Jim Owens

Isle of Palms, SC

reply:

how perfect! thanks you for letting me know you were happy! hope to see you again!

My son Scott, his friend Brian Scheffler, and a friend of mine, Mike Quiggle, completed a four day fishing trip in August. Roman Sorokin was our Captain, and Tyler Young was the deckhand. We had a great time, caught all sorts of fish, and could not have been treated any better. It's evident that the "Reel Affair" folks are professionals and they certainly know how to do an "all inclusive" trip for guests. The food--including boat lunches--was excellent, the accomodations were very good, as was the fishing equipment. Octobre was prompt in the morning at getting us to the dock, as well as in the afternoon picking us up. We spent about 40 hours with Roman & Tyler and had a lot of fun with them while catching fish. Scott said it was the best trip he had ever been on & Brian was sorry we did not book another day of fishing. Even though the travel home took an entire day, all of our fish was excellently vacum packed and all was still frozen solid. We are already contemplating a return trip.

Back to work today after a long travel day yesterday which included tears as we had to say goodbye to you, Tim, Reel Affair and Southeast Alaska. After a 17 hour travel day we loaded our freezer with perfectly processed salmon, halibut, lingcod and rockfish. This fish looked as if they had never been out of the freezer, rock hard, perfect, great job in the fish house. We are having fish tonight.

Anthony could not stop talking, sharing stories and pictures with his Mom when we got in and unpacked just after 1 am, very unusual for him as most young teenage boys.

I just want to say thanks for all the extras you did for us, Octobre. I’ve fished with your competitors in Sitka and I will never book another trip there with anyone except Alaskan Reel Affair. Outstanding people made our trip special. Tim and Daniel were top notch on the boat, made us all feel like family. Never a foul word, very patient with us and they made quite a good impression on young soon to be men. Good stories, conversation and of course fishing. Please tell them that the boys finally figured out the mystery of the creature they described on the first day out. Brian, Hayden, Anthony and I laughed until it hurt re-telling that one.

There are lots of fishing charters that claim to be “family run” and “family friendly” but this isn’t just a sale pitch with you, You are delivering exactly what you say.

As the Trace Adkins song goes ‘I guarantee this memory’s a big’in…We ain’t only fishin’

oh wow - that is so sweet - we liked you guys too ... every night we would chatter about the 4 of you ( all good stuff ) -

thank you so much - i have 2 more groups to post - then you guys - it should be live tomorrow - thought i'd have them all done today - but it takes time - editing them - resizing ...

you must be pooped - i had no idea it took so long & and you'd both get home soooo late - the liners were the right thing to do - save those - bring them back & i can use them on your fish next time - no need to buy them 2x right?

again - thank you for everything - my best to your family! Stay in touch!

If you have a special pic or two you'd like me to add to the web site - fire it off to me - and if there is something you'd like written along with it - i can do that too ...

there is NO WAY - that i'll miss adding your email to Tim and I to the site under the "words from our guests"

here you go! soon to be on the web site - no later than tomorrow - most likely tonight - not all - but some ... these are in 14 million pixels - so crisp and clear - available to edit if you choose - again - thank you gentlemen!

Dear Octobre, I wanted to let you know how greatly satisfied and happy my brother Dave and I were with fishing King Salmon in Sitka on 5, 24, 2012 with your charter service and your crew.

Your arrangements were easy and complete.

You picked us up at the dock and drove us to the dock your boat went out of.

Your equipment was top notch and all the gear and boat was clean and neat.

Let me give the highest recommendation to boat Captain Roman and Deck Hand Justin. They were a great team. Roman’s attention to every detail showed how dedicated he was to putting us on fish. He just couldn’t have done a better job. Justin, our deck hand was equally hardworking and great. Both had fun personalities and really knew what they were doing.

My brother and I caught four King Salmon that day and never lost a fish.

Roman fished where the fish were, not where everyone else was fishing. He took outstanding pictures and we have already received the emails with the pictures for our memories.

Octobre’s “Bag Lunch” was considered “gourmet” by us. Excellent.

Your handling of the cleaning and processing and subsequent shipping to us was seamless. If and when I am ever lucky enough to come back to Sitka, there would be no other charter I would consider.

You guys are simply the best and made it a trip of a lifetime. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Allan Johnson, Pace, FL

Dave Johnson, Yelm, WAThank you!Allan JohnsonSales Partner, Indoff

***

Dear Allan - Both you & Dave are so very welcome - stay in touch!

L to R

Dave JohnsonAllan Johnson

Thanks again Gentlemen!

From Allan 6.5.2012

Octobre, we just received our FED-EX box of fish @11:50 am Central time. It was frozen but was starting to thaw. Just a little soft around the edges but it is fine.

It is about 90 degrees here right now and the fish was on the FED-EX truck since 8:07 this morning. Pretty hot in those trucks!

I am glad you used two insulating bags. We got a lot of fish. Hope Dave gets the same amount!

thank you - it's important to me - you would think once its gone - but - i want to know that all is well - you'll be opening your freezer & reminded - so it is important to me it's perfect - and actually - if you take the shipping - the charter & the other costs involved - it's pretty expensive fish - ( your fish ) which is very cool - but i want it to be perfect - i am a bit anal that way ...

The following information has been submitted from the Alaskan Reel Affair Charters Web Site Contact Form

Name = Brian EhniCompany =

Comments = Thanks for a marvelous visit fishing in Sitka. ARAC (especially Octobre, Roman, Tyler and Dan) went over and above what I was expecting in terms of caring care of customers and ensuring we had a good time. I know I'll be back, and I'm sure my brother, Scott will too. I'm even trying to convince my brother Bruce to go. Maybe next year or the year after, but soon!

I just wanted to thank you again for a great Sitka fishing experience. We like to fish new locations every year, but we had such a great time with Reel Affair that we will back next year.

The hotel was really nice and the crew did a great job on the boat. They put us on fish all three days, it really wasn't a "fishing trip", it was a "catching trip".

We brought home our fair share of fish and it was frozen solid when we got home.

See you at the Sacramento show, Scott Paulson

From Octobre:

Dear Scott & Gretchen -

That is about the nicest thing i could hear - I am very proud of our crew - but the 'fish house" is kinda my baby .. ( well Daniel & I - he a solid young man - and has his fair share of good ideas - always thing ...

okay - not ALWAYS ... ;-)

Thank you too! nice folks & easy to be around - thank you for your kind words -See you all in Sacto.

Hope things are great for everyone there. Thanks again for the great trip! The guys (Capt. Dan and Collin) were awesome! We would like to have a few pictures of them to go with our pictures if they wouldn't mind.

When we were putting our fish in the freezers we discovered the eggs were not included. Did they forget to pack them or did Dad forget to put the info on his paper everyday?

He says its not a big deal but I think he is kinda bummed about it. Let me know when you get a chance.

Thanks again, Lori

From Octobre :

no - he wrote it down & we had remembeed - but given the box weights - it would have put him over - and those eggs woulda been a 50$ bill to your dad ... we had to choose and decited that was really darn expensive for roe ... tell him we are sorry -

Lori - ( attachments ) look through these - Collin is there - and 1 of Dan also - Nice hearing from you - stay in touch!

Just a short note to say thank you. Had a great time on our trip, enjoyed the fishing and meeting all of you and your help.

The fish, made it home OK and still frozen.

My truck was covered with dirt and dust thanks to the Habood, what a mess.

I have attached several pictures of my ElCamino just for fun. Will be sending the pictures from the trip to Tony on a flash drive sometime next week. I am sure he will send them to you.

Well take care have a safe summer. Keep on fishing.

Mike Peters

Image Attachments (12.2 MB)

From Octobre :

Mike - It was a pleasure fishing you guys & meeting you and your brother, Tony - Checking email now & see i have a message from him also - so i'll forward the pictures to him - thank you - Nice bunch of folks!

Take care of the 100 + tempratures there -- --

NICE CAR! thats a beauty - i put it on our web site - under the catagory of WORDS FROM OUR GUESTS - i'll send the link to you

I feel like I was not treated properly on my recent salmon fishing trip last week in Sitka.

If you will remember, I was referred to your company by a client of mine in Ketchikan. I specifically asked you if your guide, Roman, was available for my trip and you assured me that he was… and he would be my guide.

Initially, it was only my wife and I and I was quoted $500 for 5 hours plus the cost of the licenses and salmon stamps. I was ok with this.

I was able to get another couple to go with us which basically added $500.00 of pure profit to your company (minus the cost of a sandwich and drink).

Again, this was ok with me.

What was not ok with me is the fact that we were not put on the boat with Capt. Roman……………..

we were ultimately placed with Dan and a rookie mate. The end result was poor……………not one salmon was caught on our boat.

Another friend of mine was fishing approximately 50 yards from us and the 6 of them caught 6 King salmon and 2 other salmon during the exact same period of time and in the same fishing location.

I am 61 years old…born and raised in Florida……. and have fished my entire lifetime.

I understand that some days just don’t work out, but I firmly believe that our guide did not have the experience or knowledge that Roman would have had.

My reference told me that Roman was a very knowledgeable guide and he definitely made the difference in his successful trip 2 weeks prior to mine.

I feel like I was deceived and I can honestly tell you that my wife and the couple I invited to go with us were very, very, disappointed and angry that the trip was not as I had promised (nor what you promised to me).

I did not get what I was promised!

I truly believe I am due a partial refund of the monies we paid to Alaskan Reel Affairs Charters LLC. The amount we are entitled to is up to you and your integrity. I do not wish to have ill feelings towards you, your Company or the Alaska experience.

I trust you will be fair and honest with me and do the right thing.

You may send me a check to following address:

Charles A. McKay

(omited by ARAC for privacy)

Sincerely,

Charlie McKay

*****

My Reply :

Dear Charlie ~

Again - thank you for your patience -

First and Foremost I want to tell you again how sorry we are that you had a disappointing trip. I vocalized on your arrival back to the dock & after entering my van for your ride back to your ships tender that your catch was indeed disappointing and not what we want for your guests.

Our crew ~ both land & water take & hold a very high standard & I again can assure you that you & your party were not the only disappointed folks.

We all were.

We clearly understand the costs to our folks associated with a charter fishing trip, and we are all aware that it is not an inexpensive proposition. - again - why our crew works so hard to assist you in harvesting fish.

We have not raised our rates in 5 years. Being a business man yourself I am sure your understand the importance of keeping pricing fair & the ever rising costs associated with doing business.

Originally we agreed to fish you & your wife as just a party of 2. Not a proposition we make any money on what so ever -- The truth is we lose money with only 2 anglers - The same thing I had explained to your friend in Ketchikan -

I am fully aware that you had requested a different captain - and I always do my level best to honor those requests - however at times we need to be flexible as other extenuating circumstances had come to light making the change unavoidable - Again - nothing I hid from you -

I can assure you that your Captain has a long and successful history with us - having built a clientele list that has requested him for the 2012 season. He is more than capable at his craft. Your inexperienced deck had had little bearing on your trip -

Roman - your captain of choice - also is running with a new deckhand this year .

As for your catch - Tim & I had spoken with your crew & the other Guide who was fishing about 50 yards away - in the same waters - All agreed that the " bite just turned off " upon your arrival to those fishing grounds. You also expressed in van "thats fishing".

We all prefer "thats Catching".

- Again - for that we are sorry - but it is a fact of nature & something which we have no control at or over -

We will be unable to refund any monies - Again - Please accept our sincere regrets - we always strive and work & hope for a more fulfilling trip for our charter fishing guests -

Just a note to tell ya what a great time we had fishing. Chris & I enjoyed the trip and the weather was perfect-(thanks for that Octobre I know you requested that just for us)

Our best buddy Jason had a great time too. Hopefully we all can make a return trip next year.

Our frozen fish came to Boise without a rip or tear in any box. The colored tape is a great idea!! I could pick out our boxes right away.

If you and Tim are in Boise this year or next for a show email or text me and I will provide a great home cooked meal!

Chris already smoked a pink and I made salmon cakes out of it-yummy!!

Thanks for all the fun, Michele

Reply: From Octobre

Hi Michele - You are very welcome - we'll definitely drop you a line if we do the Idaho show - it would be a new one for us - so it is still up in the air - but I'll let you know - thanks so much for the compliments - it was a pleasure fishing you, Chris & Jason -

Octobre- Sure had a great trip and wanted to say thank for all the fun.

When I woke up this morning I was wishing I was on the boat heading out for Kings!!!

Made it home last night and unpacked all the fish – what a great job they do. I wanted to send you a check for 40 dollars and was wondering if you would give each one if the guys that handled our fish at the airport 20 bucks for me?

Let me know if that would work or not and I will send the check out today.

Thanks again – had a great time.

Jason (Lucky Undys) Angell

******

From Octobre :

Jason ~ thank you - we enjoyed you & your friends too - good people - (that works -) thrilled you were so pleased with your processing - My "boys" will be thrilled too! thank you from me for them - they're good boys.

Just a note to say thanks and how much myself and the boys enjoyed our fishing experience with Reel Affair Charters.

Being deer and elk hunting outfitters we understand the amount of time and dedication involved in an operation such as yours. I was especially grateful to Roman and Tyler for their high level of professionalism and consideration of Russ and his special needs.

I will say you do know how to make a sack lunch. The accommodations and restaurants were great.

All of our fish made it home ok with us and was all still completely frozen. The shrink wrapping and labeling is great.

Josh and Dan are already bugging me about making plans for next year.

I have attached a couple of pictures of some of the deer and elk we have harvested on the ranch for your enjoyment.

Jeri Talbott As we head back south to the "Lower 48" today, I'd like to give a shout-out as big as our monster catches to Tim and Octobre Twaddle of A Reel Affair Fishing Charters, for making us feel like we were the most important fisher people that ever came to Sitka! We had the time of our lives! :-D

The return trip to Colorado Springs was uneventful, which is just the way we like it. The fish were into the freezer by 1:30AM mountain time and all were solid! Nice job on processing, packing and labeling.

I enjoyed my time out on the water immensely. Weather and seas were not all what I expected, but in a very positive way. I was fortunate to not have experienced any of the ‘mal du mer’ that was going around. I appreciate your recommendation to medicate with the meclizine the evening prior to going out. I am certain that this made all the difference.

Also, I enjoyed looking at the photo log on the website last night.

I would like to ask for corrections/changes to what is posted on the www.reelaffair.com site.

Pete’s name is misspelled…it is Holnback.

In short, we had a great time, the fishing was fun, and you run a great business! I thank you for a great vacation.

I just wanted to share with you and your team the amazing time we all had while fishing with Tim & Dan.

Your well aware of the fact this was my second trip (Cindy's first) to Sitka and your organization is nothing less than First Class. I can't even compare your crew to my experiences with company b last year.

Although the weather has been off as well as the water temperatures and more important the fish, Tim was very knowledgeable to seek out what other couldn't when it came to finding fish, day after day we set the standards in fishing. Nothings better than coming back to the dock and being the hated group because we're the ones that found the fish.

Leading up to our trip I know some of your posting comments were directed at me and my questions of fear that I chose the right company to fish with. Spending thousands of dollar to take a chance on fishing with someone is quite a tough decision to make.

I know now I made the right decision. It doesn't hurt that more than half of my investment was returned to me for dinner. I don't think I could ever fish anyone else, so tell Tim to put an air seat in his boat because he need to take care of that back.

I'd like to say we'll see you next year but I think it's going to be really hard for Cindy & I to eat the 200lbs of fish we brought back within the next year, but we'll try.

Thanks Again

Tight Lines!

Dan Vartan

PS I had to attach a photo that you sent that we took, the boat was rocking pretty bad when Dan took the shot and your version is missing half the fish.

From Octobre :

Dan, i read your e-mail several times. that was one of the nicest things to say ... Thank you Again & Eat Up!

;)

Photo compliments of Dan & Cindy Vartanshowing the rest of the story ....

Hey Octobre Thanks for taking the time to put this together for us. I had a great time fishing with Reel Affair Charters. Both you and Tim made real easy to have a great time. Dan our deckhand was also great to have with us. You guys are two of the hardest working people I have evre met. Thanks to you and your staff we had an experience of a lifetime. If I ever choose Sitka as a fishing destination, I would dfininetly book with you again. Thank you...... Robert Piontkowski

Subject: Fw:Robert, We try ..... I'm glad you had a good time. it's what it's all about; that & getting some fishing under your belt. Maybe we'll see you at the sportsman show - if you'd like tickets, just call my cell number, or the toll free number as i forward it thru to my cell, okay? Thanks again!

Subject: You are a SWEETIE!Sure missed visiting with you this year, but I had to let my bro and his gal have a chance this time ;-)

Dad came home so excited that Roger remembered him and his "sayings." Thanks so much for taking such good care of him, and for the gifts you sent Mike and I. (You didn't have to do that, you know!) Everyone had a great time, and I am anxiously awaiting the pics. I guess most of them are on Tina's camera, was she planning to send them to you?

I look forward to seeing you someday soon and/or hearing how you're doing. Dad said you had a health scare, but never figured out what caused it? Hope you and yours are now well, strong and happy!

What a great time we all had on the water in the Great State of Alaska. It was certainly a pleasure to meet you Tim and young Danny Boy (if only he would hustle a little bit more around the boat...slacker).

Already mentally planning the next trip up to your paradise.

See you in Sacramento.

All the best, Tim Gerlach AKA: "Fish Getter"

*

Dear "Fish Getter"

Thank you for the kind words & i'll give your best to that LAZY deck hand for you -

Octobre:This was on their "bucket" list. I think they had a well deserved and fun time. I'm glad I ran into you at the Sacramento ISE. If it wasn't for you and your husband taking the timen during that crazy Saturday, to help me understand what the trip would be about; I don't think that trip would ha ve happened for them. Thank-you. P.

October we just wanted to thank you for the wonderful trip we had and remark that it was truly a memorable 4 days of fishing. We hope you are recovering from your illness and that Roger and Dan are doing well and to thank Pam and Tim for covering for you.

At this time we are also wondering if we could have the fishing pictures (JPEGs) sent to us via email? That would be great if we could get those. Thanks again.

My wife and I would like to thank your wonderful kindness of the airport pick-up, hats, additional fish and tee shirts in our fish box.

We would also like to thank you for your hospitality and customer service.

It has been become very rare to find someone who cares so much about their customers.

Our fishing day was not best fish wise but we had a wonderful time and knew we made the right decision using the best guide services in Sitka.

We would also like to pass along the highest comments for our wonderful guide, Roger. He is an excellent fisherman who cares about his customers satisfaction and enjoyment. Roger gave us his best efforts to allow me to catch my first keeper King salmon, I appreciate his effort and determination.

In the future if we are in Sitka again, we will definitely will book another fishing adventure.

Currently we will highly recommend your services to our friends and family.

Best WishesRich and Julie Blissard

Re: From: Octobre / Alaskan Reel Affair Charters

reel.affair@att.net To: Rich & Julie

Dear Julie & Rich

Wow - Thank you for the kind words - I'll pass them on to Roger & Dan too -

You are both very very welcome - glad you & your fish made it home in good shap - you both spent some decent travel time to get there -

This brings back phenomenal memories!!!!! There is nothing that can compare with the combination of the company of great friends (past and present) and the beauty of Alaska. Thank all of you for the privilege of participation in this wonderful fellowship!! ( The pictures are outstanding)

Just wanted to thank you again for a wonderful trip. It was our first to Alaska, and definitely not our last. The efforts you made to make our experience perfect were greatly appreciated. We made it home to Wyoming with all the fish, and it was still frozen solid the next day. Before we left home, I didn't clean out the freezer for fear of jinxing the trip, so when I got home, I had a major job.

We are definitely looking forward to seeing you again, and will highly recommend your total operation.

This is Kyle from the Barnett group that visited you this week. We all made it home without a glitch (and more importantly, our fish did, too) and our freezers are stocked full! As a matter of fact, Brad was going out to buy a full-sized freezer for his garage!

I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you did for us. We never had a concern whatsoever the entire time and everything seemed to click like clockwork. Looking back on the experience, the fact that everything went so well is even more amazing. I can't believe all the logistics involved with reservations, van rides, processing, shipping that you guys handled for us to make sure we had a great experience. Also, I want to thank you for throwing in a little extra fish for John and I to make up for the poor day we had. My God! I could use those crab legs as a walking stick!! I've never seen anything like those things! I realize you are not responsible for ensuring we come home with "X" amount of fish, nor would I expect you to guarantee it, so your gesture was very kind and generous.

For me, the whole trip wasn't about stocking my freezer but having the experience of an Alaskan fishing trip and I really enjoyed myself.

My only regret is that we couldn't stay a few more days.

I definitely hope to visit Sitka again someday and I will definitely call Reel Affair before I do.

Thank you again for booking the fishing trip. A good time was had by all. Sure enough, I got back on the boat and got scolded by my wife for not shipping the Salmon home. Oh well, not the last bad decision I will make.

Jamie Holland

To Jamie: i am glad you all had a good time - it's what it's all about - and now you have a reason to come back ...thank you again - my best to everyone!

Arrived home safe and sound, and the fish was still frozen solid thank you very much!

Once again, I had a terrific time. After 11 years, I never tire of getting together with everyone from Alaska Reel Affair. You are all just a class act, and fishing with Roman was a total pleasure. Aside from being a good captain and guide, he's a lot of fun. It took some time, but he finally learned to relax and let me fight fish instead of yelling "Get it in!!!" It was a GREAT fishing with him, and if you can set me up with him next year, July 24, 25, and 26, that would be great. As I told you Sunday, he's not just a good guide, he's a good person and one hell of a nice guy. That's all I ever hope people say about me. Please thank him for making my trip so enjoyable.

Thanks so much for the shirt...it's REALLY nice! Will call in Sept. to discuss the off-season.

Take care, and have a safe and prosperous winter. Book a lot, and if I can help, I will.

Please forgive the delay in letting you know how the fish fared on the trip home. … been busy since I returned, building and adding some new parts to my daughter’s play set.

The flights home were not much fun, but a definite bright spot was seeing those fish boxes roll onto the baggage return, safe and sound.

We unpacked them as soon as we got home, and -- 14 hours and three flights later -- everything was still frozen solid! Nicely vacuum packed in just the right sizes; I couldn’t have asked for better. Perfect! We have since grilled some of the halibut… Excellent! Thanks to you and your processing crew for a job very well done.

Please pass my thanks again to Tim and Dave. Fishing with them and my Dad and brother was a pure pleasure.

Tim’s a top notch skipper and Dave’s an excellent deck hand; two of the best I’ve ever had the privilege to fish with. It was less like fishing with my Dad and bro and a crew; more like fishing with a bunch of good friends. And that, as much as anything, will have me coming back.

Arrived home and the fish arrived safe and still frozen hard. I had no way to get any home with me, so they are all in the freezer at Steve's home. The grand kids all love salmon, so I am sure that some will go home with them.

We had a great time as usual and after fishing with Reel Affair for ten times, I feel like part of the family. I might add that I get treated that way. Steve feels the same way.

I am already looking forward to next year after I celebrate my 86th birthday. I really enjoy sitting on my perch on the stern of the boat.

Tell Dave that I want him to set the ball at 78 feet again as the king we caught there was great fun.

I want to say thank you from all of us for the fantastic trip you made for us. You and Tim and all your crew have a top of the line operation. The boys have asked to go back again on the way home, wish we could say yes, every year.

I have to tell you we had a much longer than planned trip home. A passenger had a medical emergency causing our baggage to sit in the sun for several hours, for us to miss our connecting flight making more time for our fish to sit outside in the North Carolina sun.

Rich and I were so worried we'd lose all that wonderful seafood. Well, your super method of packing made it all stay frozen and believe me it was a long time. After leaving Sitka on Sunday at 2PM and arriving home Monday at 4PM, we still were in good shape fish wise, and full of happy memories which we will have forever. We'll have to return for more fish.

It was so nice to meet you after hearing Rich and Kevin talk about their first trip. Again, thank you for a wonderful time and feel free to give our name for a reference anytime.Hope the rest of the season is good for you.

It was a long day on our return....3 hr delay in Seatle due to plane problems (happened last trip also). Got home at 11 p.m.

I want to thank you again for your great hospitality and professionalism of your staff. Although catching fish was slow, everyone in the group had a great time and really enjoyed everything Reel Affair had to offer.

The pic enclosed is of Kathy Mackey with a nice king.

Once again pass on to our guide and deckhand, Roger and Dan, how much fun we had with them and how much we enjoyed the trip.

Octobre.....I'm mailing you three CDs.. On some of them, I have used an 11 mm lens so the fish look LARGER THAN LIFE. You may not want to put those on your website. I think youcan tell which ones they are.

We had a BLAST,...and thank you for those steaks...wow, weate them for dinner and breakfast.

Dear Tim & OctobreOn behalf of my grandsons:Andy Cook, Kyle Cook, Adam Beier and my son-in-law Doug Vandas, I want to thank you again for your outstanding care for us on our recent trip to Sitka.

Your attention to our needs and expertise in finding so many various type of fish we caught made this trip one we will never forget.

I was very impressed with your Charter service compared to several others I have taken in Alaska.

Seeing whatles, other sea creatures and eagles was most exciting.

Hoping to see and fish with you again.

P.S. Being the wife of Frank, I wanted to share my evaluation of their trip.

I really like the processing of the fish. Each package was a single serving and label. The web site with the recipes is great and wonderful. I have used many of them and recommend the use of this web site.

I hope the boys will be able to schedule another trip in the future.

Sinderely yours.Frank & Char WolfBrighton, Colorado

Frank Wolf : Far Right

From: "Octobre / Alaskan Reel Affair Charters" reel.affair@att.net

To: "Frank Wolf" Subject: Re: THANK YOU FOLKS!

Date: Sunday, June 21, 2009 PM

Nice hearing from you - I believe we will be in Denver next year for the ISE show again - so remember - if you'd like to come in - we can leave tickets at the door -(yes, even if you are not fishing ....)

thank you again! i will be adding your kind words to the web site - when i have it posted i will send you the link - thanks again!--Thank You, Octobre Twaddle

We are still talking about how successful our fishing was, how the weather played into the success of the trip...

Tim made it enjoyable with all his stories and David being the perfect deck person!

We truly enjoyed our captain and crew! We got to meet new people with the same passion of fishing as us!

We barely had room in our freezer for all the fish. But it all fit!

We picked up Greg's dad yesterday in Modesto, he is now formally living with us, so we will be sharing our daily fish with him.

Thanks for making it a successful and fun time for us!

Jeanne Garcia (aka Hitchcock)

Jeanne, thank you & and you are both very very welcome - we fish nice people! i am very happy to hear "Dad" is doing well - thanks so much to the immediate care he received in the beginning & you guys too - you both know a lot & what to look for - he'll be in good hands - happy eating! I still have your pic's - and am anticipating when i can get them up on the site - but for now .... see attached ...--Thank You, Octobre Twaddle

When I contacted Brian in Feb I had read on the internet that some fish did not arrive, & some of the product was not included. The name of the business had a color included, so I asked Brian about this & he informed me that his processor did not sell retail. This removed ANY doubt I had.

That was what my comment concerning higrading referred to. There was also past problems in Seattle & PDX where airport employees has diverted fish.

So, to conclude a lengthy note, I am very happy w/ the trip & all aspects of the people involved in same.

Octobre,Just wanted to drop you a note and let you know that we had a great time.

Alicyn has been talking non-stop about our trip and telling everyone that we have to go back. She is still trying to figure out how she can get her dad a job in Sitka so she can move there. She also keeps talking about Tim and how much fun she had with him. She looked forward to her muffin that he had for her every morning.

Dave didn't get enough fishing time in even though we fished for 4 days. He is still craving it.

I think this last trip we had with the 'lay day' was the best. Little time to walk around and see all the sites and get some good fishing time in also.

We had a really nice time and I thank you for helping us and making our stay and trip so memorable.

When things slow down I would really like to get Rachel's pound cake recipe. Alicyn loved it that day that Roman shared with her.

Hope all is well with you and the crew. Hope Tim is feeling better also!

Thanks again for the great trip.See you at our Sportsman's Expo.

Love,Stephanie, Dave & Alicyn (aka Midget) which she thought was great by the way.

Ok - received all your info - and yes there is no scale on the boat, and unfortunately it is easy for a captain to exaggerate the size & weight of a fish - which makes him look good - and you happier. At any rate, it is not a practice we condone simply because it leads directly to this dilemma. You have spent 5 to 6 hours with this young gentleman, & have had a great time - and take as gospel the weights he has given you -

a couple of things here - a fish that is 38 pounds is not 43 inches in legnth - i am 63 inches - that would be a king in the 40 + pound category - that is the problem with estimating -

The other thing is this ~ i sent Ted to the fish house as soon as i received your email - to double check paper work (the forms you all completed on board - (or someone did) prior to sending it to be prep'd and prepared for shipping -

One form was left blank (as to how the split should be done for shipping) -

The other was circled to be a split, shared equally - - this means that everything which is received will be exactly what the other has received - ( you have shared equally in each others catch - which explains the odd nbr of tail and collar pieces - as you will receive the other half of that days catch. ~

That is all we can go by - if the split was to be different than that - then each form should have said who gets what & your captain should have separated those fish into two totes with the corresponding paperwork - and third - there is no way to discern a male from a female after it is caught - cleaned on board and the eggs removed -

Size does not specify gender - size predicts the age of the fish -

Rock fish is not a 50% yield - it is a 27% yield - salmon is 53% when it has been gutted, & bled - head & tail on (roughly - ) now processing - the skeleton, head, tail, belly & gill plate is removed - so we are most likely at 48% it depends on the fish - Some are fatter than others - but my boys have been filleting with me now for 4 years - they filleted the meat from the back bone - both sides - and you can literally see light through when held up - your retention was at it's max -

if i sound a bit frustrated - it is not you - it is because you were not assisted in preparing your forms properly - the captains guide constantly & they know how to do this, and that they do it every day (even though you did fish on a contract boat) - and the forms while clear to them, are not clear to you - my concern was he did not help you in preparing your paperwork to get what you wanted - which i see now - is that each party wanted to get their own fish - instead you received a 50 - 50 split -

when we ship do you want to be double lined as your brother requested? --Thank You, Octobre Twaddle

My brother received his fish yesterday. Shipping was good. It was frozen solid and in good shape.

Unfortunately, he may have received the wrong box. When he laid it all out, it seemed to be one and a half fish, with half of the larger one missing. There were only three collar pieces and three tail pieces. I wondered when you said you sent him less than 25 pounds of fish.

I see some of our pics up at your website, so you know what our fish looked like. We caught a total of four salmon and eleven rock fish. Sadly, our boat didn't have a scale. However, the captain estimated the weights at 20, 24, 30, and 38 lbs - that's 112 lbs of salmon. Barbara's was 42". Mine was a nice, thick male at 45". I know you can lose up to 50% of the weight in processing, but even at that I would have expected 60 lbs of salmon.

I know there were three kings caught on your boats the same day. Maybe Jim received half of the other three fish.

At any rate, before you ship to the bay area, would you please check the box to be sure all of the nice male and all of the smaller female are included. We're expecting six of the rock fish to come here as well.

Just wanted to send you a quick note. The fish arrived today in great shape.

Thanks again making my Alaska fishing experience a great one.

Gary and Mike were great and put us on the fish. We only had one day to fish but Gary did a great job finding the fish.

Listening to the other boat captains that day over the radio I know for most boats their day was not a good day.

My wife Cheryl and I were joined by gentlemen also named Gary and his son Logan. Logan and Cheryl were up first and Logan connected with his King Salmon within 5 to 10 minutes of us starting to fish.

We fished the area for a while longer but after listening to the other captains who had no or only one King on board, our captain decided to head to an area that he had success with in the past.

I was a little concerned leaving all the boat traffic but our captain Gary was really on the money. Arriving at the new spot, I quickly caught my King along with Gary catching his King. My wife Cheryl closed out the Salmon fishing by catching a nice Coho Salmon.

Again listening to the radio and after our captain Gary reported three Kings on ice along with the Coho the other captains decided he was "The Man". I could not agree more.

Great day fishing, nice company, great captain and first mate and beautiful scenery.

Thanks again for making this a special day in my life. I will be back to fish with in you in Sitka again soon.

I wanted to thank you once again for your accommodations and participation in making a good trip fantastic. The crews were very good at what they do, & the fish made the trip back to N.Y.in good shape.

The cd was a nice touch as well.

In a few weeks I would like to reserve a spot for next year, I would think within the same week but not as many back to back days.

Thanks again for a great expierance and it was nice to see an organization good at what they do.

I've sent along a few select photos of our third charter with you folks. Each year we ask if it could get any better, and each year we agree it did. Your entire staff are completely awesome with every service you provide. I think Roger is smiling just as much as Frank! Thanks for the wonderful experience.

I just played the lovely CD you so graciously provided us with. It was like being there all over again and it was just what I needed after a tough weekend back from an AWESOME time with Reel Affair Charters.

Thanks for the PERFECT weather, King Salmon, Roger and his master deckhand Mike, and excellent accommodations all the way around.

Alaskan Reel Affair Charters are simply THE BEST! We are already talking about next year, but we may need two boats!

Frank is actually out fishing today - can't get enough! We loved being with the Bouche's - aren't they so cute!

Just wanted to send you a quick note. The fish arrived today in great shape.

Thanks again making my Alaska fishing experience a great one. Gary and Mike were great and put us on the fish. We only had one day to fish but Gary did a great job finding the fish. Listening to the other boat captains that day over the radio I know for most boats their day was not a good day.

My wife Cheryl and I were joined by gentlemen also named Gary and his son Logan. Logan and Cheryl were up first and Logan connected with his King Salmon within 5 to 10 minutes of us starting to fish. We fished the area for a while longer but after listening to the other captains who had no or only one King on board, our captain decided to head to an area that he had success with in the past. I was a little concerned leaving all the boat traffic but our captain Gary was really on the money. Arriving at the new spot, I quickly caught my King along with Gary catching his King. My wife Cheryl closed out the Salmon fishing by catching a nice Coho Salmon.

Again listening to the radio and after our captain Gary reported three Kings on ice along with the Coho the other captains decided he was "The Man". I could not agree more.

Great day fishing, nice company, great captain and first mate and beautiful scenery.

Thanks again for making this a special day in my life. I will be back to fish with in you in Sitka again soon.

Peter would like to THANK YOU (and I do as well) for going above and beyond to make this trip an absolutely fantastic one! His dream is to return for 5 days in June next year with Tim - Oh yes, an evening at Ludwig's too!

I just printed off some great sounding recipes that I will share with Jack's wife - we will definitely enjoy the wonderful seafood.

I cracked up with the opening of "Throw the Tea in the Arbor"! What a hoot!

Thanks for another great trip, and am still recovering from my inadvertent swan dive from the top bunk! :>)

The fish made it back to Houston beautifully, and thanks to Wink for his overnight freezer storage at his restaurant, even the shrimp were frozen solid when I got home to 97° temps. Ugghhhh...

thanks for a great packing job.

Thanks again for a most memorable trip for Vic, "Vink" and King with our fabulous Captain Tim at the helm. We will be talking about this for a long time, and that is also our fear, that our reputation in Sitka is now shattered. but we will be back!

I wanted to thank you and your crew for a wonderful day of fishing. The bite was slow, however the crew worked tremendously hard for our fish. At the end of the day 2/3 of us had Kings. Can't argue with that.

I would personally like to thank Roger and Chris for their hard work, what great guys. And to remind him to put the banana disclaimer on all boats. What a laugh that was.

Anyway we arrived home safely last night and have already talked about another trip, this time fishing only.

Whenever your next shipping day is feel free to send it out. I'll receive it here at work. We are open Monday -Friday 6am - 5pm.

Thank you so much - hope you enjoyed the disk - hopefully we'll see you in Denver in 2009? Remember i can leave tickets if you like - just drop an email about the 1st of the year - that is when i'll begin tracking those types of things - Fish make it home safety? Thanks for the pictures - i'll post some in a little while

From Chuck ~ thanks for the disk. We enjoyed it while waiting at the airport. Yes, we'll be at the show in 2009 and contact you prior; thanks for the offer.

Fish made it home safely and into my freezer and looks great; I plan to enjoy some for dinner tonight and this weekend.

See you at the show and I look forward to my next trip up as well.

I'm recommending you to everyone here in Denver and at work that I know. Best, Chuck

Thank you very much for the great time. Keep looking for something as a solo in late June or open solo dates in July.

Can we book Flo and I for sure next year with Tim in late June -- Best is arriving about June 23 and fishing 24,25,26 a lay day on 27th and fly home on 28th. The lay day can be any day, we just need 1 day to relax and shop (Murrays). Allan

Just watched the video -- awesome -- I never saw Roger take most of actual shots while fighting fish -- heshould be a photographer and you belong in Hollywood producing movies -- YES --you are that good!!!!!

Small favor, is it possible to get just the single picture of Flo and I that we can take and use for a X-mas card???

AWESOME deck hand!!!!! Very agile, fast, polite and same for Roger -- he did a good job and worked very hard -- he was so worried about the slow fishing--I told him to relax -- you can not make them bite!!! Very professional captain.

I don't know if you remember me, I used to work at the Westmark Shee Atika, when it was the Shee Atika.

My name is Celeste & I worked the front desk at Westmark and worked with you a lot and booking your groups into the hotel.

The reason for my call was I'm currently in Salt Lake City and I'll be coming to Sitka on May 9th 2008 for a few days with my boyfriend. it's his first time to Sitka and I just wanted to show him how the charter business is there.

I know that you guys are really good in the charter business and personally I wouldn't want to go with any of the other charter companies in Sitka.

So, just seeing what good deals you have for a half day trip of fishing.

Please e-mail me back. My number is 000-000-0000. I won't have my phone on til later on tonight.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Celeste

Photo Compliments of Ryan White who visited with us at the Fred Hall 2008 Sportsman Show in Long Beach~ thanks Ryan -

The following information has been submitted from the Alaskan Reel Affair Charters Web Site Contact Form

Name = Bill Reinsberg

Comments = Once again, thank Roger and Chris for a very nice morning of fishing. This was the first time I had ever gone out to fish for salmon and really enjoyed the experience. We are looking forward to a salmon feast with our family.

Hello, I have been very lax in sending these photos. My apologies. We received our Salmon promptly and in excellent condition. We started eating it immediately.

I thought I would send some pics of our most recent "Salmon Party". We all used a different recipe and it was lots of fun. Fred cooked his in a dutch oven over the firepit, using a seasoned mayonnaise marinade and it was Delicious!!!!

Mike used the brine method that Joel gave him and we grilled ours.

We laughed and talked about fishing and about how my fish was bigger than Mikes (It wasn't but it sure looks like it in all the photos).

We all hope that we will be able to do it again in the near future. It was a great trip, Thanks again.

I can hardly believe it has already been a week since we were there fishing with you. The trip with my 'boys' was outstanding. I started planning the trip two years ago, thought it would be a fitting way to celebrate my 70th birthday to have my three sons and two sons-in-law all together. My wife, Pat, and I fished with you three years ago, so we knew that it would be a first-class operation, all details handled professionally and that you all would work hard to make the 'Robinson expedition' a great memory-making trip.

The weather was perfect and with two boats every day, we had lots of variety in scenery and fishing; and each of us could spend a day or two on a boat with every other member of the group. We are looking at our pictures and sharing stories already. The shrimp and crabbing was a hoot - everyone pitching in to pull the pots and get them emptied showed us a little bit of how the real crabbers and shrimpers work hard for their pay. The salmon, halibut and rockfish cooperated and everyone got plenty of pulse-pounding excitement, ribbing and laughs for fish that got away (or tangled in the prop), and of course, fish in the boat.

So, again I just wanted to say thank you for making our time together so enjoyable and memorable. I bet you will see us again, together or separately.

Hi Octobre and Tim, Just want to say thank you for another great 3 days of fishing and fun! It wasn't just the fishing, which was great, especially for salmon, but we also had a great time bantering back and forth with Roman and Dan! They're a great team! I can't wait to get back with the gang next year, and every year thereafter until I can no longer fish, at which time ... they may as well just put me away. Please extend ou thanks to everyone at Reel Affair. It's the people that keep us coming back as much as the fishing, and you and Tim have the best!

We realy want to come again next year as we thoroughly enjoyed our experience with you and your crew this past week... ... I believe we will be able to pick up a 4th for our party and we would take the best captain and guide available. Of course, if a cancellation would occur during that time for Tim and or Roman, we would like to be considered. We probably would go with a three day trip again just as we did this year thus ruling out a crab and shrimp run.

Thanks again, Octobre for all you did to make our trip so enjoyable and smooth.

Octobre,This artical was in Daytona News Journal yesterday, Flagler Beach is about 8 miles from us. I thought it might be interesting to you and the Reel Affair staff.

The Red-Eye out of Seattle to Orlando was a little much - I think they must have put some bad ice in our Scotches.

Yeah that's it!

The fish arrived ok. Ormond Beach Elks let me put 2 boxes in their freezer for a day while we cleaned out our freezers to make room. My first thought was - we are going to have to get another freezer but we threw out enough old stuff to make room. We have already had 2 meals, 1 rock, 1 coho.

Hello,Jack & I had a WONDERFUL time! As other - Anglers (see I remembered!) on the plane, talked about their trips, Jack bragged on ours, (about the fishing not the HOMEMADE cookies! So you're safe!) Any way, these people asked who we went with. Jack told them & they said they would look you up; they want to go again. Jack handed out all the cards you gave us, 4 I think & told them to tell you we sent them your way. They said they lived in Seattle & come to Colorado in January for the stock show to show cattle.I hope they really do look into your charter.

I LOVED the CD video. It made me laugh and wish I was back! Can I just tell you I want one & send you a check? I am very new at this computer stuff!

Octobre's Note ~ I have already mailed them one (CD) I don't want to charge for those ~

... Mary Wu called me! She also wants to come back, when we go if its not to long of a wait! I told her hopefully in 2009. Mary said she may not be able to wait. I told her to e-mail me & we would see what we could do!

Sooooo, I started saving for another of the BEST vacations I have ever had.

The following information has been submitted from the Alaskan Reel Affair Charters Web Site Contact Form

Name = Linda Welch and Al Ivanjack# Guests = 2Timeframe = July 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30th 2008Comments = We would like to book for 5 full days of fishing with Captain Rick. Salmon and Halibut for July 2008. See dates above. We are the couple that went out with Captain Rick on July 27, 2007 when SCB needed an extra boat. You have a picture on the web site of us and Mr. Charles Wallace on the boat with the Kings and Yellow eyes.

Rick said on the way out that we would have a "fun time" and we sure did.

I want to thank you and your wonderful team for an absolutely fantastic experience the last week of July. Everything was handled in a first class manner from the moment we arrived.

Octobre and Tyler were there every morning with smiles on their faces (even our departure at 4:30 AM).

It was fun surprising Chase and meeting all his Reel Affair cohorts. What a great bunch of guys.

The fishing was awesome. Being a flyfisher from Colorado, it was a kick going out and tackling huge fish in such a different setting. We were constantly hooked up and caught fish all day long. Tim and Chase are not only a great crew but a lot of fun (Chase must come from good stock). We spent our entire trip catching fish and listening to hilarious stories from our crew and the Ralston brothers.

We saw eagles, whales, grizzly, and some of the most picturesque shoreline I have ever seen.

I just wanted to write to tell you how much we enjoyed our trip. From the moment we arrived in Sitka everything was great. Tim, Gary, Chase and Joel were all amazing guys to spend time with. It seemed so important to them for us to be enjoying ourselves and to be busy catching fish. I am already looking forward to bringing my 9 yr. old son next year. Tyler and the rest of the guys in the fish house did a great job accommodating our requests with our fish.

By the way our fish finally got here mid day Tuesday, only a day late and it was fine. I am sure glad Gary and Joel recommended we get the boxes lined.

My bother and I had a wonderfulexperience with Alaskan Reel AffairCharters this past July. I want to especially compliment the managementfor the hard work you have put into training your staff to provide amemorable fishing experience for us.

My brother considered it a trip ofa lifetime. Since I knew what to expect, as I have been with youbefore, I considered it my yearly fishing experience.

We have now cleared out our Freezer. Can you send our fish via FED EXto the pre-coordinated addresses on 10 Aug 07.

Thanks again. Robert L. Hohman (Bob)Alexandria VA 22314

NOTE: Thanks for the kind words Bob ~ I'll let everyone know what you said - they will appreciate it very much ~ & our best to Maryanne ~

Just got back from the best 5 day fishing trip. Aug 1 through the 5th.

I have had this date for many years. I have been fishing with Tim before he started his own Charter in 1995.

I am with Tim, Alaskan Reel Affair Charter twice a year, I think my next trip in 2008 will be my 25th trip with Tim.

Now I said it was my best trip, every trip was my best trip, but this year, 5 days no rain and the sea gods were good to us with the flat seas.

My fishing partners for the last three years are Dave and Cheryl Luttrell. I love to fish but I think they love fishing more then me.

When you have great partners like the Luttrells, what more can you ask for.

14 years ago I was fishing with other charters, and I can tell you from all the years I have been fishing nothing can compare with Alaskan Reel Affair Charters,

Lets not keep talking about Tim I want to bring the whole crew in, the other four boats, the skippers and deck hands they know what their doing, and you know Tim, he's fat and getting old ... (a little fib).

Well he is getting old, I been with him for 13 years, he is well loved by many people.

Now lets not forget Octobre, the boss of this great outfit, Octobre, I want to thank you for what you do and thank you for that great CD.

The following information has been submitted from the Alaskan Reel Affair Charters Web Site Contact Form

Name = ted saadComments = The picture of my family that you have posted on your web site Turned out to be one of the best pictures from our vacation. I was wondering if you could E-mail me a copy of the picture in full resolution (as it came off of the camera) so that we can make a nice print of it. The photo is in your gallery from July 28, 2007. It is titled "S.C.B. folks ~ July 28 2007" The url appears to be:

http://www.reelaffair.com/gallery/photos/more%20scb_2207674_b.jpg

Thanks, we had a great day!

Ted Saad

Thank you! Pictures are in your e-mail as i write! Glad you had a really good time! Thanks again!Octobre

We flew from Sitka, Alaska to Burbank via Seattle yesterday, July 20,flight #58 and #358.

Two boxes of frozen fish from our trip were checked with the above tagnumbers. These did not arrive in Burbank on our flight. The baggageagents there confirmed that the boxes were in Seattle and would be put ina freezer, then put on the flight arriving in Burbank at 9:30 a.m. today.

The agents in Burbank called this morning to confirm our address, but wetold them we would pick up the boxes because of the nature of the contentsrather than wait 5-6 hours more for delivery.

We called at approximately 10:15 a.m. and were told the boxes did not arrive. They said maybe they would be on a flight arriving at 11:41 a.m. and to call back at 12:30 p.m. We did so, and now the agents answering the phone say they are too busy to look for us to confirm whether or not the boxes are here. Because of the perishable nature of this checked baggage, we doubt any will survive. 100 pound of fillets won't do anyone any good after they've been sitting around who-knows-where for 24 hours.

We are most curious as to why no one seems to be able to track these itemswhen there are barcodes on our tags and surely your operation must use scanners and computers at every point.

Could someone let us know exactly what happened? The fishing trip was great, but this certainly gives it a disappointing ending and a bad tastefor Alaska Airlines.

Octobre,Thanks for your help in tracking the fish! We have enjoyed a couple ofgreat meals already and Adam can go forward with that BBQ for his shiftcrew. Adele is looking for 30 days and 30 ways with salmon, halibut, androckfish. Hope the weather continues to be good and your clients catchtheir limits! Thanks for a great trip.

We want to thank you and your staff again for the wonderful time we had fishing with you this year. Our vacation will be difficult to top, but we'll give it a try next year. We just sent a package to you in the mail today. You should get it in a few days. We loved the photos on your website. You razzed Bill pretty good. He is doing well. Hope the season is good for you. We'll be in touch.

Thank you and your crew for a very enjoyable and memorable fishing trip. I did not realize that yours was a totally vertically integrated enterprise where you had your own boats (including a spare for unseen breakdowns), own captains and first mates (deckhands), and fish processing plant, cleaners and packagers.

Also, between you and Tyler picking us up and delivering us to the various locations, you were always on time and helpful. It was great at the airport and the crew was flexible with our plans to send one package each for Matt and me by FedEx.

By the way, would you please FedEx the packages on Monday, July 30?

We especially enjoyed becoming friends with the two crews that we fished with. They were very professional and yet friendly and sincere.

The only two comments or queries involved Victoria's the last evening that we were there and a question on the yellow-eye rockfish. You probably talked with my cousins about Victoria's so I won't bug you about that.

Regarding the yellow-eye, I was surprised that we only had eleven pounds of filet when our total four fish weight caught was probably seventy pounds. I know that my rockfish weighed twenty-three pounds and the others were only slightly smaller. I thought we would have had about twenty to twenty three pounds of filet.

Also, thank you for the wonderful cd with the other sights of Sitka which captured our love for your beautiful town.

Thank you for such a nice note - I have indeed spoken with the manager at Victoria's and was told they DO in fact accept reservations - the young man was very attentive when I spoke with him of the seating issues and listened carefully to each and every thing I told him of - he assured me that in the future there will and would be no issues such as that ~

for your Yellow Eye ~ The yield on Yellow Eye is minimal at best ~ 27% ?

The head and belly cavity are huge leaving not much meat ~ so in effect a 27 lb fish will give up no more than apx 7 lbs.

Bearing in mind all Yellow Eye harvested and shared 6 ways ... well, just that much more incentive to return to us a little sooner ~ Please forward this on to your family for me? They, I am sure have the same questions about the Yellow Eye & "Vickie's" / Victoria's!

Thanks again and stay in touch.

Amos ~ on another note - take a look at the 2007 guest photo's and let me know what you think!

Again ~ all our thanks. I have read your e-mail to the entire crew, and they also said thank you ~

It was great to see you and go fishing with Tim and of course Chase. They were wonderful and we all had many laughs with Tim as no one can tell as many stories as he can. For every thing that someone said he had a story to go with it. Great time. Everything was so organized and everyone was very well taken care of. Octobre makes it all look so easy even though we know that she sleeps very little and works into the wee hours of the morning.

Of course I could not go without saying that the women on the boat ruled !!!!!

Sharlene and I decided that it was because we both had our nails done before we got there and you have to have sparkles painted on them because the fish like those the BEST!!!!

HaHa ~ So we decided that the men were just out of luck (unless they want to get their nails done).

Thank-you so much for a GREAT fishing experience and I would gladly recommend "A Reel Affair" to anyone who really wants to enjoy the Alaska Experience with wonderful people.

We had a great time. We really enjoyed fishing with Gary and Joel. It was not an easy bite, but we appreciated the diligence to get us on fish. Joel identified the correct size of bait based on what the fish were eating and Gary did a great job keeping us on top of fish, when the bite started.

Thanks again, Kevin Bobst

P.S. I have already smoked a couple flavors of salmon and had cedar plank salmon and poor man’s lobster.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the fishing & Sitka. Will be in contact with the person who won your trip for next year and impress on him the need to schedule his trip. Here are some pics for you to post. Tell Roger & Chris we enjoyed their boat & humor!! See you in Denver in Feb 08!!

We returned to Florida safe and sound. Our fish were still frozen thanks to the great packing (and the liners).

We want to thank you and Tim for a great experience. You made our first trip to Alaska one to remember. Thank your entire staff for great customer service for us please.

A Special thank you goes to Gary & Joel. Those two make a great team and worked hard to put us on the fish. They knew I wanted my fist ever Halibut before I left and on the last day they made it happen. Both Tina and I had a lot of Firsts that week: Salmon, Lingcod, Yellow eye, and Halibut. Not bad for Floridians!

We loved the Sitka area and already we are planning when to come back. We plan to be repeat customers. I have attached some photos (One good one of Gary & Joel).

You may share this letter or any photos if you like to.

Thank you again from, Jerry & Tina Shonkwiler, Davenport-FL

Jerry & Tina ~ You are both very welcome ~ I'll share your note with the crew ~ & Thanks again ~ Octobre

Thanks for sending the photos so quickly, I am bummed I lost mine because I took a lot, but now we have a few photos and we have some video that my Dad took too. What really counts is that we had a great time!

Our fish arrived without any trouble, & we didn't have to pay extra on the plane. We just barley fit all the fish into the freezer too.

Thanks for a great time, you have a top notch operation, we were impressed with everything!

Dave and I wanted to tell you how much fun we had with Roman and Dan as wellas the others with Reel Affair Fishing Charters. I am attaching a fewpictures for you. Better late than never!

Dave and I had some friends over a couple of days ago to share some of thefish with them. We had planned to put some of everything out for people totry. We went through every package of fish and found no Yellow Eye (we onlycaught one but wanted to try it) and we had no Ling Cod (we had 4 thatshould have come home). This was most disappointing to Dave as the reasonwe came so early in the season is so he could bring Ling Cod home. I'm notsure if one of our boxes did not arrive at the airport or what happened. Isthere anything that can be done? Please let me know.

Enjoy the pictures and thanks for the adventure.Sincerely, Cecilia and Dave Everson

i am sure it is in there - most likely it' in a 'rock fish' pouch - so i'll bet the boys got your fish (Ling, Rock & Yellow Eye) bagged together - and did not put the fish (meat) with it's skin to determine what bag it should be in (when filleting - we put a piece of the skin on the fillets, to let the person bagging know if it it yellow eye - ling - or rock fish. if it is not marked it is virtually impossible to tell them apart. i will get some together & fed ex it to you - let me check tonight and see if there is any ling cod in the CREW fish - i know there is yellow eye - i will get back to you -

sorry about that - i know it's there in your freezer however you'll never know which ones they are. i can tell them apart, but if you don't know the subtlties of the look of the meet, then you'd be hard pressed to tell which is which - we'll take care of you ~

can you tell me where you'd like it shipped? Sorry about that - we do our very best, and my "Fish Guys" are great, but once in a great while ~ it is possible to find Halibut in a Chinook Pouch, or Chinook in a Ling Cod Pouch ~ Yellow Eye in a Chinook Bag ~ or in your case White meats in one pouch ... We'll fix you up ~

Note from Octobre: *I'm not even going to squawk at my guys. i will bring it to their attention, but they really do a beautiful job ~ Thanks for letting me know!

We are doing fine. We looked at every package in the freezer and they are all labeled Chinook and Halibut. Nothing with any patch of skin and the halibut meet shape and size are pretty much identical. We really appreciate you taking care of us. That’s what make you guy stand out over the others.

You can ship that to ----

We got back to Colorado and have been so busy. Every weekend we have had party’s to go to or had people over. Father’s Day, our Anniversary, the Granddaughters birthday. I thought as you got older things would slow down. It has not happened.

Thank you very much for a wonderful trip for myself, brother, and our two wives.

We caught a lot of fish but it was Tim and Chase who made a huge difference as captain and crew. We were treated like family.

Our first day of shrimping and crabbing was fantastic. All that wildlife to see including bears, a swimming deer, eagles, dolphin, whales etc. Then we pulled the shrimp pots and were treated to a hands on experience of pulling, removing the big spot prawns, removing the tails in prep for eating, baiting up the traps and just like the "perfect storm" movie running out a string of pots and getting ready for the nextadventure.

The next experience was pulling the crab pots and culling out the small and female crabs and saving the big dungeness crab for taking home after a small feast on-board.

We finished early, and instead of just going home Tim said lets try for a salmon. What a surprise when my wife caught a large King Salmon and some Silvers!

Tim went the extra mile to make this a great day.

Day two was limits of Kings, a lot of silvers and limits of halibut. We now have all the fish, shrimp, and crab we can eat in a year!!!

Day three was the best. Relaxed, we all were. Tim became an explorer showing us sites of the Volcano, great Islands most never see & incredible scenery.

We caught Salmon and Halibut and took lots of pictures.

This was our 5th year of fishing with Tim and the other super captains -- but, it is the highly trained crew and professionalism shown that makes this such a great experience. This year it was Chase who crewed and was "Johnny on the spot" --very helpful and so careful in netting fish and keeping us comfortable.

The food was super for lunch and we now have to diet.

We got picked up at the Westmark hotel on time for an early departure and you were waiting to take us home after the trip -----

Do you ever sleep?? Picking people up at the airport, handling bags, returning them with fish boxes for the ride home. Octobre you are the greatest!!!

Now, we are home ~ what a fantastic job by the fish processors -- beautiful job of filleting and vacuum packing and packing into boxes. You guys/galseven carried the boxes on to the scale at Alaska Airlines.

Thanks to all of you from Octobre, Tim and Chase, Romans' sandwich/lunch maker gal, (Rachael Ginn), the other driver: sorry I forgot your name, I'll call you Mr. Friendly. (Tyler Eggen), the young man helping secure the boat to the dock, (Mark Hake or Ted Gibson) all your processors and anyone I forgot.

This is the best operation one could ever experience. I should know, I run charter boats on the West coast and I say YOU ARE TRULY #1!!!!!

Note to Allen & FLo * Thank you from all of us Allen! - I have passed on your kind words to everyone so they'll know they are noticed in every aspect & appreciated. My 'behind the scene's guys' if not typically visible definitely appreciate your thoughts. ~ Again, Thank You ~ O.

Well - we made it home but of course none of our luggage and fish made it and no one, at any airport or through any airline has a clue as to where it could be located!! :) Just peachy!

The only thing that would hinder a trip back would be having to deal with Alaska Air again. I am shocked they are still in business. Endless delays, they do not scan baggage, geez.

I hope those insulated liners really do work. We should have shipped it all home to ourselves. If they do actually find our bags - how long will the fish be viable? Was there any dry ice packed with it?

If you thought we looked stressed and haggard before - you should see us now!! Sara and Pat Church

6/30/2006 Original message from "Sara Church"

All luggage finally arrived with no thanks to the airports! We are so glad we purchased the liners. That is the only thing that saved the fish! A good portion was defrosted but all was still cold. We threw is all in the freezer except for 2 steaks for dinner!

We have told everyone how pleased we were with your service and that you, Tim and your staff are customer service oriented 200% of the time.

Even with all the travel stress - this is the 1st vacation we went on in which we were truly relaxed. We look forward to seeing you again in 2009 for 5 days!Sara & Pat

There won't be any issues with the fish - you did EXACTLY the right thing! Sorry about not getting back to you yesterday - i had no opportunity to even check E-mail yesterday ~ up at 3am in bed by 11pm ~ full day, busy day, but everyone came into Sitka successfully, and exited well also ~ (smiles)

Hi there - just finished unpacking all the fish. WOW - we need to have a party. I actually can't believe I fit all of it in my freezer. Of course, there's no room for much else. Oh well.

Everything looks great except I thought we'd get more of the ling cod. That was a huge one that Dave caught and we only got 2 small fillets? Oh well, not a big deal - we have plenty to keep us fed for a good long time.

One important question. What's your recommendation as far as how long to keep it frozen before it loses quality? Is it 3-6 months on fish? Let me know. I'm going to the website for some recipes - we are having salmon tonight. Yippee!!

Glad all was well with your fish. The Ling Cod you caught was apx 15 lbs. in the round. The yield on A Ling Cod is minimal. They have a huge head; gut; & not much else. Giving a very small yield. Maybe 2 to 3 pounds is what you may have there (2 or 3 pouches?) With all rock species like Rock fish & Yellow Eye, actually yielding more than a Ling Cod, & giving maybe a whopping 33 percent.Salmon is Apx 50% ~Halibut is Apx 50% if it is 100 or more lbs.

~ The yield on smaller halibut ~ 90 lbs or less; the ratio fluctuates given the size of the fish -

Does that help?

Wait till you taste ~ your gonna love it all ~ nothing fresher ~ you will never by seafood from the market again.

How long will it last? 2 to 3 years!

As long as you are careful moving it in the freezer, and don't bang them together or drop them, or the bag will get a small hole - (nope it won't show) and just count on the fact that air can now get into the pouch. As long as the bags are in good shape - you are good to go ...

*NOTE: We use a 4 mil pouch. Foodsaver bags are 2 mil.

Follow the 10 minute per inch cooking rule ~ unless deep fat frying & most likely it will be a little less than that ... lots of hints in the recipe section! enjoy!

OUR DREAM TRIP TO ALASKA WAS MADE COMPLETE WITH OUR FISHING TRIP WITH REEL AFFAIR CHARTERS.

SPEAKING FOR THE FOUR OF US IT WAS THE BEST CHARTER WE EVER HAD. FROM THE MEETING US AT THE CRUISE SHIP, TO THE LUNCH WE WERE SERVED ON THE BOAT IT WAS JUST FANTASTIC.

PLEASE THANK ROGER AND CHRIS FOR PUTTING US ON THE FISH SO QUICKLY.

OUR TIME WAS LIMITED AND THEY MADE SURE WE COULD FISH FOR SALMON AND HALIBUT. WE CAUGHT BOTH IN SHORT TIME WE HAD.(7 HOURS).

WE CAUGHT 2 KINGS, 11 SILVERS AND 3 HALIBUT.

THANKS AGAIN FOR GIVING FOUR OLD GUYS THE TIME OF OUR LIVES.

JOHN, J8, GLEN, JACQUE

And Thank you very much gentlemen for the kind words ~

John ~ Your fish shipped via Fed-Ex. this morning (Monday the 25th.) You and your friends will have it by 10:30am tomorrow ~ let me know when you receive it. There are some beautiful fillets in there ...

Hey Octobre, this is Rod Jones from the June trip of 06. Wasn't able to make it this year but hope to again next. I thought I would send you this photo, it is my favorite and I think it would be a great one for your web site. Might be the ultimate theme picture for ARAC.

Tell Jeremy, and Chris if he is working for you again that we said hi. We are looking forward to another axe throwing contest!

Please tell Roman that I got good photos of him, Rachel and Dan. I will print them out ASAP and mail them to them.

We just got back from Phoenix last night. Our SUV was borrowed (by a family member) while we were in Sitka and the alternator caught on fire and the fuel pump broke. We were stuck in Phoenix until yesterday, as we flew in on Sat.

I took these photos on our way back to port on our last day of fishing, June 1st. It was certainly a gorgeous day .... I have down loaded several hundred photos ... all good, if I am to be the judge. Our trip was perfect (the Alaska part), but we are delighted to be home to our refuge in the wilderness of the White Mountains of AZ. after 4 days in Phoenix! (108 degrees)

We knew you were supposed to get some gale force winds and wondered if it shut down fishing. The wind/dry storm hit us this morning. The winds have been gusting up to 80 MPH! But at least it's cool...a high of 84 today. We are at 7,200 ft. and it is always delightfully cool in the summer here.

Wish we had gotten to meet Tim, but it was delightful seeing you every day. We are raving to everyone as to how exceptional your Reef Affair Charter business is. Rick, having been coming up every year for at least 16 years and my experience last year gives us something on which to compare your "service". We especially appreciated two crew members instead of only one doing all the work.

Most of all we were crazy about Roman! There is no way you could possibly find a young man who could top him. He is so intelligent, well read, a delightful personality. He may not have been delighted with all my questions, but his story is riveting! We were very impressed with Roman and we liked Dan, too.

On top of everything, you obviously ordered the best ever weather for our last day of fishing. It was awesome.

Rick was talking of coming back next year before we disembarked the fishing boat.

Rick was really impressed with the packing. (He tipped the kids at the airport). Rick said he liked the "individual packaging". The "OTHER" (we shall not name, charter that Rick had used for 16 years!) packaged the fish in double packages sealed together, so if you wanted to thaw fish out to eat, you had TWO you had to thaw out. The packages had only one seal (down the middle) and if you cut it, the other fish was not sealed. Also, he liked your labeling. THEY didn't "label" the fish. No labeling! So, you wouldn't know what kind of fish, nor did they have labels indicating their Charter Companies name. In this day and age, you should be able to make and print out your own labels on a PC and forego that added expense. I make my own labels for jellies and just printed out some more business or "calling" cards for us last night.

I will be sending you more photos as I find time to go through them. I got such cute, happy, FUN ones of the fishing and your super neat "crew" (both Roman and Dan). That is quite a service.

I just wanted to drop a little note that once again said we had such a great time.

Our first day with Gary and Chris, they worked their butts off trying to get us each our king salmon. That was until the Orcas' came in. Then we found our kings in another location. I think Gary was relieved!

You made a wise choice with the company you put on our boat the rest of the week. Bill (Matzkiw) & his wife Dori were very nice.

We truly enjoyed it all once again, and we got to see more scenery than last time.

I don't know if the laugh of the day was Ories' salmon taking him around the boat three times or me ripping my rain pants.

Perhaps in a couple of years we'll do it again. Orie and I wouldn't go with any other.

If you want to use me as a reference feel free to. I've have had several people ask me for your website and I've sent it to them. People have come up to me and asked "where's the place to go fishing and I say SITKA with REEL AFFAIR!

Orie and I also would like to Thank you for the colds we came back with. We really do appreciate you guys and thank you for the fun. Orie especially the one that makes the lunches.

Hi Octobre, Tim (and Chase): WHAT A TRIP! You all did a GREAT!!!! job; relaxing, fun, great company, great fishing, shrimping & crabbing, excellent (customer) service!!!!!!!!!!!) I don't know how to put it all.

It was a trip I'll never forget, primarily because of the people we dealt with...honest! You three are the best! What a team! Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for everything. Best to you all, Jim Wells

an E-mail I received from Steve Reid shortly after returning home; May 2007

Octobre,

Got home about 7:30 our time yesterday evening. Fish was still frozen (4 hours from airport to home at 85 degrees) and I am cooking a piece tonight.

I Developed my pictures today & had them put on a disk. I will go through & send you the good ones. I got one incredible shot of the 5 Orcas surfacing right after they passed under our boat, only a few feet away ... 5 of them !!!

I also have a good one of the now infamous sea lion a ways off our bow.

Appreciated the ones you sent to my dad today, he forwarded them to me. I think Salmon look great against a tye-dyed backdrop!!

What an amazing trip this year, seems to get better each year. I so much appreciate the special care all of you take with my dad, especially you handling his questions all year & Tim on the boat.

I value each year up there with him.

When I figure out how to download & edit the discs with pictures I will send them up to you. Until then, take care. Steve Reid.

Last year was the sixth time I have fished with Reel Affair Charters. That should be recommendation enough, but I will go farther. Would I recommend them for fishing? Absolutely.. They are great people to go with, they treat you wonderfully and have the best equipment and the staff is as good as they come. Each boat has two crew, the captain and the assistant who are very helpful. I am over 80 years old and they are always right at my side when I have a fish on. They supply a lunch that is plentiful and is always more than I can eat. They supply cold drinks and never run out of them. They know all of the good fishing spots and many of the other charters follow them as they always do so well.

Sitka is a very nice town and the accommodations at the hotel they provide is good and has a good bar and restaurant. Reel Affair supplies as part of their package breakfast ($10) and dinner ($25) meal coupons that are redeemable at all the good restaurants in Sitka for the three days that you fish.

You never have to wait for someone to pick you up in the morning or in the evening when you get back from fishing.

As for when is the best time for fishing, that is difficult to say. I have been in Sitka seven times now and have fished in June, July and August. This coming year I am going in May. We have always come home with more fish that the airlines allow without charging extra for overweight. For several years, that was 140 pounds of filets that are vacuum packed and flash frozen and are at the airport waiting for you when you check in.

They always have arrived home still frozen hard and in perfect condition. Reel Affair does their own processing so you can rely on it being done compared to the other charters that use some of the commercial processors. One year, my son and I came back with 325 pounds of fish.

As for the kinds of fish, in the early part of the year, May, the Kings are running better than later, but we have always caught Kings in every part of the year, but late August, they are not as plentiful as earlier in the season. The silver also known as Coho are more plentiful in July and August, but are caught all during the year. As for the Halibut, they are caught all year around, but in that they are caught in deeper water, if the weather turns windy as it can, not many of them are caught then. At that time, you fish for the Cohos and Rock Fish like the Ling Cod.

As for equipment, all you need to bring are clothes that will keep you warm and can be peeled down if the weather gets warm as it does once in awhile. They furnish very good rain gear on the boat that not only keeps you dry, but also warm. It is necessary to have some light waterproof boots as they keep the boat spotless and each fish that is landed requires that the boat be washed down, so you need boots. The lighter the better.

In all the time I have gone, there has never been a day that we did not go fishing because of bad weather, but in that it is a rain forest area, they do have rain. In that Sitka is surrounded by many islands, there always seems to be a place Reel Affair knows that you can go and catch fish.

It is advisable that you pack only Carry on baggage so you can check it going, but carry it on the return so that you can check the fish up to 100 pounds and carry your luggage aboard the plane.

One year, I asked a friend of mine if he would like to go and I seriously told him that if he had ever had better salmon fishing anytime, (and he went to Northern California many times), I would pay for his whole trip. On the first day about an hour after we started to fish, he looked at me and said. "You don't have to pay for MY trip".

This last year, we were a little late for the Kings, but on each of the three days we fished, the three of us on the boat had our limit, six each, of Cohos by eleven o'clock.

I hope that this helps you in making you decision to go to Sitka fishing and I can't say more than I have about how I feel about Reel Affair.

I will also attach a picture of what my son and I brought back on one of our trips several years ago. This will give you an idea of how they are packaged and how much you can get.

If there is any other information I might be able to give you let me know.

How was the fishing with Reel Affair? Would you recommend then for fishing? If so, when is the best time to go? I have never fished in Sitka. Just what type of equipment would you recommend for me to carry.Any help would be greatly appreicated.Thanks J.